Snakes
With unblinking eyes that seem bigger than their stomachs, snakes swallow some of the largest prey imaginable in comparison to their slender figures. These reptiles wolf down meals that seem impossible due to their size difference. Their expandable jaws and flexible bone structures allow many snake species to eat prey many times their own size and weight, their bodies simply expanding to allow large prey to pass through. And when a snake eats a large mammal or even a crocodile, it won’t need to feed again for several weeks.
But snakes need to take caution when undertaking larger meals. For one thing, a large meal may take hours to consume, leaving the snake vulnerable to other predators. And of course, some snakes can’t take it all in and end up exploding. It sounds disgusting, but that’s the circle of life.
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Komodo Dragons
Komodo dragons make for ferocious and capable predators. They are the largest lizard in the world, possess incredible strength, and are quicker than their ungainly appearance may imply. Using their preferred hunting tactic of lying in wait and ambushing prey, Komodo dragons consume animals to four times their own weight, including water buffalo and deer.
Leaping into the air while beating at their prey with their front paws, the dragons use this moment of surprise to knock the animal over, upon which the dragon attacks it. Animals that survive this initial assault usually bleed to death or suffer from sepsis due to the dragon’s poisonous mouth, allowing the Komodo dragon to simply follow them until they die.
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3Epomis Beetle
- Photo:
The Epomis species of beetle remains one of the most unique ever discovered. In the larvae stage, the creatures perform a kind of dance, with the movements attracting the attention of passing toads and frogs that are many times their size. Once the amphibian comes close enough to try to eat the larvae, it dodges out of the way and quickly latches onto the skin of its prey. Here it can essentially suck the creature dry, leaving just bones behind.
Researchers found that out of hundreds of tests, no frog or toad successfully ate the larvae or escaped. Even an amphibian that managed to consume a larvae only held it down for a few hours, before throwing it back up, upon which the larvae ate the amphibian.
4Praying Mantis
- Photo:
It sounds outlandish to suggest not one but two little critters possess enough gumption to go against the natural order and prey upon birds. Yet praying mantises all around the world, like the Goliath birdeater, do just that. Researchers observed these predators preying on a variety of different songbirds and hummingbirds in dozens of countries.
They typically approach while the bird feeds and attack at the bird’s neck or head. After the bird dies, the praying mantis will either scalp the creature or dig through the eye sockets to get to its favorite part: the brains.
5Goliath Birdeater
- Photo:
- Ltshears
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY-SA 3.0
As you may have guessed from its name, the Goliath birdeater, a large tarantula, eats large adult birds. The ambush predator usually chooses to eat smaller prey such as toads, earthworms, and rodents, but will eat things much larger that unwisely stumble across it. Despite its hunting prowess, this tarantula rarely harms humans.
6Spider Wasp
Spider wasps take their name after the prey that they hunt. Although they kill spiders of any size for a meal, spider wasps never hesitate to kill even bigger species such as tarantulas that dwarf them in size. Using their venomous stinger, the wasp injects a toxin into its prey that quickly paralyzes them, leaving them completely vulnerable to the wasp.
In most cases, it will then lay a single larvae egg into the body of the spider that will then develop and eat the spider from inside out. So technically, the wasp’s larvae also takes down a being much larger than itself.
7Scolopendra Centipede
Like other centipedes known to eat small vertebrates such as mice, the Scolopendra also hunts mammals. But the Scolopendra goes for slightly bigger creatures as part of its diet, specifically roosting bats that live in caves. The insects scuttle across the top of the caves and then plant their legs into the roof.
Anchored to the spot, they then use their large fang-like forcipules to grab a bat sleeping on the wall or one that happens to fly into it. As if that weren’t impressive enough, Scolopendra centipedes also go after snakes, including the highly venomous coral snake.
